Newark, NJ – Tuesday morning commuters across North Jersey faced heavy backups on major highways and Hudson River crossings, with delays stretching from the Garden State Parkway to the George Washington Bridge and Lincoln Tunnel during the peak rush hour commute.
As of 8:10 a.m., one of the worst slowdowns developed on the Garden State Parkway southbound, where traffic backed up for 9 miles from south of the Essex Toll Plaza in Bloomfield to Exit 140 for US 22/NJ 82 in Union Township. All lanes remained open, with congestion blamed on heavy traffic volume.
The George Washington Bridge also saw severe delays heading into New York City. Port Authority traffic reports showed the upper level eastbound crossing reached a 95-minute travel time on I-95 from I-80 to the Alexander Hamilton Bridge as of 8:08 a.m. The lower level eastbound was also heavily congested, with travel times approaching 60 minutes.
Parkway and Turnpike Traffic Builds Across Union, Essex and Middlesex Counties
Northbound drivers on the Garden State Parkway encountered multiple choke points during the morning commute.
Traffic slowed for 6 miles from north of Exit 148 near John F. Kennedy Drive North in Bloomfield to Exit 153A for NJ 3 in Clifton.
Additional northbound congestion stretched 5 miles from north of the Colonia Service Area in Woodbridge Township to south of Exit 138 in Kenilworth.
Southbound Parkway traffic also remained jammed between Irvington Township and Union Township, where a separate 2-mile delay developed from north of Exit 142 near I-78 to Exit 140 at US 22/NJ 82.
On the New Jersey Turnpike, delays formed on both the inner and outer roadways approaching the Newark and Goethals Bridge corridor.
The outer roadway northbound backed up for 2 miles from north of Interchange 12 in Carteret-Rahway to south of Interchange 13 near the Goethals Bridge in Linden due to volume.
The inner roadway northbound also experienced a 2-mile delay from south of Interchange 13 to south of Interchange 13A near Newark Liberty International Airport and US 1&9 in Elizabeth.
Hudson River Crossings See Hour-Long Waits
Drivers heading into Manhattan encountered major delays at the Lincoln Tunnel during the heart of the morning rush.
As of 8:07 a.m., both the center tube and south tube eastbound reported 60-minute travel times from New Jersey Turnpike Exit 16E to the New York side.
Meanwhile, congestion continued at the New Jersey Turnpike Exit 9 ramp to Route 18 in East Brunswick Township, where traffic delays were tied to backups already forming on NJ 18 itself.
No major crashes or lane closures were reported at the time, with transportation officials attributing most of the delays to high commuter volume during the Tuesday morning rush.
Drivers traveling toward New York City or through the Newark and Union County corridor were advised to allow extra travel time or consider alternate routes as congestion persisted across the region.
